A member of Raithlin's Joker community, Caitlyn stands out as the island's only 'normal' looking adult resident - if a strikingly beautiful young woman with flawless white skin, bright red hair and large green eyes can be considered normal, that is. Only her stiff, clumsy movements give a hint that there's more to her than what one sees at first glance.

She was sixteen when an outbreak of the virus hit Belfast in 1962, and she's barely aged a day since. That's the good news. Unfortunately, the reason for this is that her body has slowly been calcifying over the years to the extent that her skin has the feel and texture of hard rubber, while her joints have stiffened so much that accomplishing even the simplest of tasks takes great effort. And it'll only get worse. Eternal youth sure isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Young, attractive blond with finely sculpted features, usually garbed in Garbo-esque suits or vintage dresses from the 'twenties and sporting an antique cameo around her neck. In her own words, 'a psychometric trance channeler', little is known of her background other than that she's an Ace able to channel the psyche of the dead from their material possessions. Even better, if the object in question belonged to an Ace she can channel the powers too. And while she may seem a tad remote, to paraphrase her idol, she just vants to be alone.

Despite being one of the world's foremost biochemists and an acknowledged authority on the Wild Card virus, Mark is a gawky, clumsy, hippie burnout with an appalling dress sense matched only by Dr Tachyon's. He's also an Ace who's able to call forth at least five politically correct metapowered personas from his psyche for an hour at a time whenever he ingests drugs specially concocted for the purpose. Has a daughter, Sprout, who's mental age will always be that of a four year old.

A large, hairless, powerful, stocky man with grey skin able to turn into a bottlenose dolphin at wiil. Once in the water, can also telepathically communicate with, and gain control over other sea mammals. Other than being able to swim very fast though, not among the most useful of Mark's alter egos.

Positive attributes - Loves Sprout as much as Mark, generally does the right thing. Negative character traits - Monosyllabilic, Lack of empathy towards land dwellers, more animal than human.Main appearances - Aces High, Double Solitaire, Turn of the Cards.Supporting appearances - None.In a nutshell - Wetback.Random quote - 'I turn into a dolphin, and I swim real fast.'

2. COSMIC TRAVELER

Hairless, blue and usually dressed in a starry cloak and hood, Traveler is one of the most powerful personalities in Mark's armoury - at least defensively. Check it out - can fly, can impersonate anybody faultlessly, can turn insubstantial, can 'breathe' in space, can withstand mental attacks, and has mild telepathic abilities. Unfortunately, all this is countered by his extreme cowardice and tendency to run away and hide in almost any given situation.

Perhaps the most likable of the five, JJ Flash can be considered Mark's ego in human form. JJ is small, wiry, handsome, charismatic, outgoing and favours a flame-coloured body suit. Able to project fire and control it in all its forms, can also fly and is resistant to most forms of attack. Extremely vulnerable to water, though. Gee, lucky there isn't much of that on planet Earth.

Beautiful master martial artist of Korean descent, generally seen in a black body suit with a yin-yang logo on the front, and a mask that covers the right side of her face. Expert in all forms of martial arts. Stronger and more agile than a human. She can turn invisble when in shadow or in darkness and possesses regenerative powers. She's also a pacifist which is unfortunate, since Mark usually calls on her when he needs to crack some skulls.

Handsome, square-jawed Adonis who favours a distinctive, if loud, bright yellow and green costume. The strongest of Mark's 'friends', Starshine can project powerful rays of sunlight, is inhumanly strong with a protective energy field, and can convert his mass to energy in order to travel at lightspeed. But just to prove that nobody's perfect, he's also an unbearable bore and procrastinator with an ill-informed opinion on everything.

Positive attributes - Will do the right thing - eventually. Negative character traits - Arrogant, insufferable, self-centred, loves the sound of his own voice, composes his own poems, recites them to people.Main appearances - Aces High, Double Solitaire.Supporting appearances - One-Eyed Jacks. In a nutshell - Tedium at the speed of light. Random quote - "I am about to attempt to avert a horror brought upon my world by your unbridled technology, while you engage in combat with another faction of the same technocratic gang that afflicted Earth with your satanic virus in the first place... Perhaps I shall compose a poem, about the moral dilemma I face..."

CARNIFEX (Billy Ray)

Government employed Ace and professional ass-kicker with enhanced strength, fast reflexes, a rapid healing factor that can regenerate most damage and a sharp mind. Usually seen sporting an all-white fighting suit, Billy is quite presentable when he can be bothered to get cosmetic surgery done between fights. More often than not though, his face looks mismatched with features that are off-kilter and unsymmetrical.

Possessing a naturally aggressive attitude and an instinctive genius for unarmed combat, he thrives on adrenalin and reacts poorly when he has nothing to do. Just don't, repeat, DO NOT spill blood on his costume. Billy holds grudges like you wouldn't believe, and he will make you pay.

Tall, slim, pretty teenager Ace from New Orleans, and niece of Sewer Jack's, with the mental ability to not only cause a person's cardiac and respiratory systems to stop working, but also able to use the same process to revive those whose respiratory systems are at a low ebb.

Five foot tall Japanese-American Joker who looks like a walking caricature of every bad cartoon you've ever seen of an asian: coke-bottle spectacles over comically slanted and exaggerated eyes, ridiculously buck-toothed, with ears that stick out and bright yellow Simpsons skin. Lives and works on the border between Chinatown and Jokertown and knows where a lot of the secrets are buried.

Majority owner of the Crystal Palace, big-time Anglophile, and Jokertown's number one information broker, Chrysalis is a beautiful female Joker with see-through skin making her organs and muscles visible to all. And we do mean all - she revels in the shock value of her appearance and wears as little as possible to enhance it. A transparent trader of secrets. Now that's irony.

A respected and powerful force throughout Jokertown, she has her pick of men despite her jokerhood, although she refuses to allow anyone to get too close. Also, her mercenary attitude towards life means she's generally unwilling to get involved in any cause unless there's profit in it.

Large, redneck Ace/Joker whose main distinction is that he's a walking corpse. Previously a petty criminal who went postal one day, picked off a number of civilians with a sniper rifle and then took his own life by blowing half his face off. The Wild Card kicked in at some point and he's still walking around somehow.

Subsequently employed by the Government who know a good thing when they see it, and occasionally partnered with Billy Ray (much to Billy's dismay), not only does he possess enhanced strength, he's practically 'unkillable'. And if the noxious stench doesn't finish you off, he's also able to excrete chemicals and acids from his palms toxic enough to put a herd of elephants down.